Andy Burnham Bolsters No 10 With New Hires
Andy Burnham, July 2026 (Alamy)
3 min read
Exclusive: Andy Burnham is building out his No 10 with new hires, including Alison Phillips, former editor of The Mirror and head of Starmer-supporting think tank ThinkLabour.
PoliticsHome can reveal that Alison Phillips has been serving as transition director for Andy Burnham’s campaign and will continue planning and delivering the transition into No 10, "to establish a high-performing organisation".
A source said: "Her priority will be to establish No 10 as an effective team that can deliver Andy’s ambition to give Britain breathing space in the cost of living, deliver growth in every postcode and return power to communities.
"She has led large and complex organisations, delivering results and overseeing cultural change."
Phillips was editor of The Daily Mirror from 2018 to 2024, before replacing ex-MP Jonathan Ashworth in 2025 as chief executive of the Labour Together think tank, which recently rebranded as ThinkLabour.
Sarah Brown, previously London mayor Sadiq Khan’s director of communications and strategy, also worked on the Burnham campaign and has been confirmed as his director of strategic communications in No 10.
Matthew McGregor, CEO of political activism organisation 38 Degrees and formerly director of campaigns and communications for Hope Not Hate, is being hired as the head of political strategy.
He has worked on elections in the UK and overseas, including Barack Obama’s 2012 campaign, and is widely liked in Labour circles.
"In a political culture that has all too often rewarded the worst behaviours, the appointment of Matthew is a signal that things will change under Andy," one Labour source outside of Burnham's team told PoliticsHome. "But perhaps most importantly I think he will help Labour's chances at the next election."
The source added: "He is analytical but in a very human way. Lots of international political knowledge not just UK and US. He has strong values and ethics without every being pious. They drive him. He is kind and decent and very hard-working. And funny."
Burnham has also chosen Graeme Cooke, a close ally of his new chief of staff James Purnell, to be director of the No 10 policy unit. Cooke has been working as a policy adviser in Keir Starmer’s Downing Street.
Harvey Redgrave, the current head of the policy unit, will stay on the team in a new role as home affairs and justice special adviser, according to the New Statesman.
Politico revealed today that Hayden Munro, former campaign director for New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern, will be political director in No 10. He has been coordinating Burnham's leadership campaign and was working for lobbying firm Arden Strategies, owned by former MP and Scottish Labour leader Jim Murphy.
Josh Simons, the former Makerfield MP who stood down to allow Burnham a run in a parliamentary seat and who had been expected to be appointed to head up policy, is said to be taking a "breather" instead.
Simons was director of Labour Together before entering Parliament. He served as a minister until he resigned from government following reported that he had been responsible for commissioning a report that investigated journalists who had reported unfavourably on the think tank he ran.
The MP said he had "never sought to smear" the journalists and apologised. Starmer's ethics adviser Sir Laurie Magnus found that Simons had not broken any rules.
